Drying apparatus.



No. 723,547. PATENTED MAR. 24,, 1903.

J. RADCLIFFE,

DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED JANAIZ. 1903.

K0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

mam 70R I I UNITED STATES PATENT FFTCE.

JAMES RADCLIFFE, OF HERNE HILL, LONDON, ENGLAND.

DRYING APPARATUS.

SPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 723,547, dated March 24, 1903.

Application filed January 12, 1903. Serial No. 138,722. (No model.)

To all whrmt it nuty concern:

Be it known that I,'JAMEs RADCLIFFE, engineer, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Fernbrae, Cosbycote avenue, Herne Hill, in the county of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to providea drying apparatus which is especially adapted for drying electric cables, but is also applicable to other drying purposes, it being simple in construction, eificient in operation, and not liable to readily get out of order.

According to my invention I provide" an outer casing within or partly within which I arrangea steam-channel extending around or partly around the interior of the said casing, and from this channel extend tubes of U shape, with the two ends of each of them expanded into the said channel, the said tubes being so arranged that they extend around or partly around the sides or walls and also across the end of the space in the interior of the casing, as hereinafter described. Means are provided for introducing steam into the aforesaid steam-channel and for conveying away exhaust-steam and water of condensation from the said channel: one end of each of the said tubes opening into a part of the said channel to which steam is admitted and the other end of each of the tubes openinginto a part of the said channel from which the exhaust-steam and water of condensation pass. The space within'the casing is provided with apipe or passage, by which it is connected with an exhauster and with a condenser, if desired. An openingis provided in any suitable position (preferably at the front end} for the admission of the goods or matter to be dried, the said opening being provided with a door or cover,by which itcan be tightly closed.

The accompanying drawings represent an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal vertical section. Fig. 2 is a transversesection on the line A B, Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal horizontal section on the line C D, Fig. 1.

The casing to consists of ahorizontal cylinder with dome-shaped ends 6 c,0ne of which I'.ails 0r guides g on the said floor f. resents tubes of U shape, having their ends expanded into the inward wall of the steamis arranged as a door d, which can be tightly closed by screwed hinged bolts and nuts or other convenient means, the said door being provided with an eyebolt or eyebolts,by which it can be lifted and removed and replaced as required.

The steam-channel 6 consists of an annulus or a partial annulus extending at or near the door end, preferably around the casing a, and extending wholly or in part, as shown, into theinterior of the said casing. The floor fis arranged at a suitable elevation to allow of a truck (carrying the cables or other articles to be dried) being run onto 71. repchannel e, which is arranged to allow steam to pass into, through, and from the tubes h, the said channel 6 being divided by partitions 7; into two compartments, into one of which compartments one end of each of the tubes h opens and into the other of which compartments the other end of each of the said tubes it opens. is a steam-inlet to which the steam-ad mission pipe is connected, and Z is an outlet for exhaust-steam and water of condensation from the channel 6. The said tubes hextend side by side along the interior of the casing ct, their bends passing 'across the end of the said interior, as shown,

so that the said tubes 77. surround or partly surround the space in which the goods to be dried are received. After the goods are in place the door (1 is tightly closed and steam is admitted through the inlet is, the said.

steam passing through the tubes h to the outlet Z, the exhauster being put in operation so as to withdraw air and moisture from the interior of the casing to and pass them into a condenser, if it be desired to recover the liquid of condensation. The tubes 7i being U- shaped and arranged as described have freedom of movement,so that they freely contract and expand under variations of temperature, and thus the tubes and joints are not liable to get out of order.

The outer wall of the channel 6 may be provided with openings closed byscrew-plugs and opposite the ends of the tubes 7t, passing through the opposite wall of the said channel e. The said channel 8 may be provided with hand-holes at intervals, as shown at m, for giving access to the interior of the said channel, the said hand-holes being closed by suitable covers secured by bolts and nuts or any other suitable fastenings.

'n is a safety-valve, and 0 is a steam-pressure gage.

p is a thermometer communicating with the interior of the casing (It for the purpose of indicating the temperature inside the easmg a.

The arrangement of chamber and tubes described and illustrated is especially adapted for drying cables, but it is also applicable to drying other articles.

Although I have described the heating as being effected by steam, it will be understood that other suitable heating agent can be used instead-such, for instance, as hot air or gas.

The casing a may be of other shape than that shown. For exam ple,it may be rectangular in cross-section.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is- A drying apparatus consisting of or comprising a tightly-closable chamber provided, at, or toward, one end, with a channel for a heating agent, which channel is divided into inlet and outlet compartments with which the ends of U-shaped tubes respectively communicate, the respective legs of each of the said tubes extending along opposite sides, or walls, of the said chamber and the bends of the said tubes extending across the endof the said chamber, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES BADCLIF FE.

\Vitnesses:

PERCY READ GOLDRING. 

